Wellington International Airport

Wellington Airport is the hub of New Zealand’s domestic aviation network. It is also the international gateway to the Capital and the surrounding region. The population served by the airport is approximately 500,000 people.

The Airport is on a 110 hectare freehold site. It hosts about 5 million passengers a year and 7 million visitors in total. 4.4 million of the passengers are domestic and 0.6 million international.

One of New Zealand’s three major airports – Wellington Airport was opened in 1959. The location, just 8km from the city centre, and the ability to take larger planes prompted Wellington’s main airport to move from Paraparaumu on the Kapiti Coast to the Rongotai isthmus.

Infrastructure company, Infratil, owns 66% of Wellington Airport and Wellington City Council owns 34%. The main airlines at Wellington are Air New Zealand, Qantas and Pacific Blue. International is mainly to east coast Australia. Air New Zealand and Qantas share most of the international market with Pacific Blue operating services to Brisbane. The recent entry of Pacific Blue domestic services has boosted competition on the main trunk routes to Auckland and Christchurch. The Airport also hosts a RNZAF terminal and hangar and a number of general aviation, aeroclub, air ambulance, and maintenance operations.

The Airport is a major player on Wellington’s economic landscape. It contributes to the sustenance and development of regional tourism and freight processing, and is a significant enabler of business and government activity. It is a dynamic economic hub in its own right, requiring the services of some 80 businesses and organisations to meet the needs of airport users. Around 1500 people are employed on the Airport and hundreds of other jobs in the region are sustained from the flow-on of airport activities.